Curling Club sweeps into Port City

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The sport of curling has seen a surge of popularity recently and now it has made its way to the Port City. The Coastal Carolina Curling Club was formed a few months ago, after many in the area wanted to try out the increasingly popular sport.

“I started taking an interest in curling during the 2006 Olympics and it kind of caught my eye,” said Tony Jacobs, a beginner at curling.

A majority of people in the club joined as beginners, many intrigued by the sport that first made its way into the Olympic limelight in 1998.

“Some are certainly better than others because they’ve been doing it for years, but most of us are totally brand new to curling,” said Betty Feezor, also new to the sport. “We’ve just been doing it for four months now.”

Unlike many sports that require you to shell out hundreds of dollars on equipment, curling is pretty simple.

The curling club’s first season ended last month and now once a week they are hosting pick-up games at the Wilmington Ice House.

“There are some other opportunities for us to go to other clubs and participate in what is called a bonspiel, or tournament and we’ll pick up with the regular season again this next summer,” said Feezor.

There is no age limit in curling. Anyone can join; the only real requirements are an open mind and a desire to have a little fun.

“It’s just people of all shapes, sizes, energy levels, but we’re all out here just to have fun socialize and learn how to curl,” said Kay Lynch, who joined the curling club recently.

The Coastal Carolina Curling Club will host a “learn to curl” clinic on November 19 at the Wilmington Ice House. The event will start at 5 p.m.